Download - Launching Your SEO Effort
Launching An SEO Effort
What You Need to Know & Getting Started
Agenda• About Confluence Digital• How Search Engines Work in 2 minutes• Search Engine Optimization in 2 Slides • A Few Myths About SEO• Before Optimization Starts• Where to Start?• Live Optimization• Resources
Confluence Digital Work
How Search Engines Work in 2 Minutes (or so)
The Basics - Indexing
The Basics – Serving Results
Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
The higher the position of your listings, the more click-throughs to your site.
The number one search result is worth pursuing because # 1 gets:4.9 X more clicks than number 3 position
8.5 X more clicks than number 5 position
14.1 X more clicks than number 10 position
Search Engine Optimization in 2 Slides
Google Page Rank
Elite 8-10Above Average 6-7Average 3-5Below Average 0-2
SEO Factors
Off-site
On-site
A Few Myths About SEO
Keyword Meta Tag• No. The Keyword Meta Tag is no longer a
consideration in search algorithms.
It’s All About the Homepage• False. While important, high value internal pages
may have a larger role in converting actions. It’s about conversions!
• View your site as a funnel functioning to move visitors to act on a specific objective.
Your Domain Doesn’t Matter• False. A domain that includes keywords, all else being
equal, will out rank a generic domain name. URL is not a primary factor.Example: We sell widgetsBetter URL: www.superiorwidgets.com, www.seattlewidgetsinc.comNot as strong: www.superiorcorp.com, depth of content can be an equalizer
All Hosts Are Created Equal• False. Geographic location impacts local search
results. Hosting in the location of your target audience for a modest SEO boost.
More Visits = SEO Success • False. Quality traffic trumps quantity. Focus on
tailoring your content to your ideal human visitor.
Frequent Site Updates Are Needed • False. Regular content updates are great but
quality of content & relevance is paramount.
Paid Ads Help SEO • False. Ads may help with visibility but the official
word from SE’s is there is no influence.
Before Optimization Starts
Success Starts with SupportCompany Dynamics• Executive level support is essential• Marketing >> drive web strategy &
positioning• IT >> recommend SEO friendly
technologies & solutions• Finance & Operations >>
providing adequate resources
Marketing
Finance & Operations
Information Technology
Collaborate or lose.
Site Analytics• Install an analytics solution
that provides the following:– Who’s coming?– What are they doing?– Where are they coming from?– When do they act? – Why do they convert?– How loyal are they?
• Google & Yahoo Analytics are free powerful tools• Easy Natural/Organic traffic report set-up
Diagnostic Tools from the Engines• Search Engine Diagnostics & Troubleshooting– Google http://www.google.com/webmasters/checklist/
– Bing http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmasters
• Set up Accounts and Start Collecting Data• See Your Site How Engines See It• Gain Insights into:– Find queries that drive visits– Crawler access, stats and errors– Broken links and barriers to indexation– Internal and external link reporting– Direct the engines how you’d like them to interact with your
site
Baseline The Current State• For Keywords you think are important now,
how do you rank?• How do your Branded Keywords rank? • How do you compare to a select group of
competitors? Are there new competitors?• Conduct a competitive SEO audit versus 2 or 3
competitors (template at the end)
Put Together Your Team• Assemble a cross functional team• Representatives from Corporate, Marketing,
Customer Support, IT and outside perspectives• No “team”? Recruit interested parties who’ll
offer unbiased feedback: business advisors, peers, significant others, friends/family, etc.
Where to Start?
On-site: “Crawl-ability” & Indexation• Data from the webmaster tools will indicate crawl
errors, crawl stats, broken links, top search queries, etc.
• If plans include moving your site, use the Change of Address tool to notify Google.
• Use 301 redirects to permanently tell users and search engines of changes to page locations.
• Compare known page count to amount indexed by search engines. This ratio indicates how you may be impacted by issues.
On-site: Keyword Research Brainstorm Ask customers & co-workers Visit high ranking competitors Visit industry sites
Take your Marketer hat off What problem does your
company solve? Describe the situation & solution
without buzzwords
Is analytic data available? Review site logs, if not… Google Analytics (free) & collect
data (Visitors > Keyword)
On-site: Keyword Research Use Tools to Find New Words Google Keyword Tool WordTracker KeywordSpy
Quantify Opportunities Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) Estimated monthly volumes Strength & volume of competition
Review the List, Reprioritize Begin to organize the list Do searches to see what results
come up. Are they relevant to you?
On-site: Keyword Research Map Keywords to Strategy Are these the visitors you’re
looking for? Do the keywords filter traffic well
Conduct a Content Gap Analysis Do you have relevant content for
targeted keywords?
Bucket Keywords: Core & Supplementary
3-5 core keywords 5-10 qualifying keywords to further
target (i.e. geographic, special function, etc.)
End with 10-15 high value phrases
On-site: Title TagsTitle Tag or Page Title
Succinctly summarizes the page’s content Appears as the headline in search results The <title> tag should be placed within the <head> tag of the HTML document. Example: <title> Primary keyword + supplemental keyword w/call to
action or brand</title>
Best Practices Create a unique title for every page Include a keyword or two, no more Describe the page contents Avoid vague titles (i.e. Home Page, Products) Recommended 50-60 characters, up to 64-66 displayed
Title Tags Example
On-site: Meta DescriptionMeta Page Description
Summarizes the page with more detail Appears as text below Hyperlinked Title Tag on search engine results
page Support the headline & work in 1-3 keywords Google may supply a description for you if you don’t
Best Practices Craft unique descriptions designed to drive click throughs Support concepts in Page Title Tag <meta name="description" content=“A keyword rich description of products
available on this page. Write it like an ad and include a call to action." /> Recommended 150 -170 characters DO NOT use keywords excessively
Meta Description Example
On-site: Other Low Hanging Fruit• Include Keywords in URL/directory structure• Add Keywords to image ALT tags• Create Sitemap.xml file & submit to engines• Include robot.txt files with a pathway to the
sitemap.xml• Introduce text-based Keyword rich navigation links• Use Flash wisely. Accentuate and highlight content
vs. using as a vehicle for content
On-Site: Content is King• Your website must be relevant to your audience• Content should be regularly updated within reason• Create and maintain a copy blog• Ideas for content
Develop a list of frequently asked questions Tips & Tricks for issues faced by the market Create case studies and publish tutorials/help files Ask peers to write guest articles/blog posts
• Too busy to develop content? Online freelance communities: Elance, oDesk, many others Hire a grad student researcher in your field with solid writing skills
• Buy “Content Strategy for the Web” by K. Halvorson
Off-site: Link Building• Link Building is…
Acquiring in-bound link from reputable sites which are relevant to your target audience.
Strategies & tactics which entice others to link to your site.
• Why is Linking Important? Engines like links. Links drive traffic. Links improve visibility. Engines puts heavy emphasis on quality and diversity of inbound links.
• Create & Distribute Quality Content Avoid distributing to content farms. Seek sites that are authority sites within your domain of expertise.
• Pursuing High Value Link Partners Treat as you would a business development opportunity. Create a relationship for the long term.
• NEVER PAY FOR LINKS
Off-site: Social Media• A growing influence on SEO likely to a key factor.• Engines are indexing & serving social media sites and
content in their results pages.• Establish company accounts for Facebook, LinkedIn
& Twitter.• Use to distribute notification of company news,
content updates, items of interest to your audience.• Once you start, do not stop. Experiment, Test &
Measure. • Start here: What is Social Media Marketing?
Ongoing Activities• Benchmark efforts against initial baselines and
target objectives.• Research keywords for new opportunities
quarterly or monthly.• Tweak and add content to fill gaps.• Link building is continuous. Track efforts.• Social media updates & connecting with others.• Watch your analytics: if you can’t measure it,
you can’t manage it.
Live Mini SEO Reviews?
Resources
Tools & ResourcesSEO News• http://searchengineland.com/ • http://searchenginewatch.com/• http://www.imediaconnection.com/seo/index.a
sp
• http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769
Key Blogs / Forums• Matt Cutts: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/ • Rand Fishkin: http://www.seomoz.org/blog • Aaron Wall: http://www.seobook.com/• John Battelle: http://battellemedia.com/• DigitalPoint: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/ • SEMPO.org: http://www.sempo.org/home • Confluence Digital: http://confluencedigital.com
Free SEO Tools• Google Keyword Tool – free
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
• RankChecker from SEOBook
http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/rank-checker/
• SEOMoz - http://www.seomoz.org/tools • Live Search (MSN)
http://adlab.msn.com/Keyword-Forecast/default.aspx
• SpyFu – http://www.spyfu.com • KeywordSpy - http://www.keywordspy.com/• WebCEO free version -
http://www.webceo.com • The Google Guide -
http://www.googleguide.com/There are hundreds available. Find the one that suites your style.
Competitive Comparison TemplateSEO FactorsKeyword:
MySite.com Competitor 1 Competitor 2
Compete.com Traffic
Home Page Google PageRankInbound Links Google –
Bing/Yahoo – Google – Bing/Yahoo –
Google – Bing/Yahoo –
Search Engine Saturation
Google – Bing/Yahoo –
Google – Bing/Yahoo –
Google – Bing/Yahoo –
Home Page Title Tag
Meta Description
Home Page Alt Tags
SiteMap.xml
Keyword Rich NavigationRobot Txt File
Site Age / Ownership Changes?
About Confluence Digital
Complemented by an extensive network
Dave Pektas Search Marketing SpecialistJason Gritten Search Marketing SpecialistAlonso Chehade Social Media Associate
Eric Layland Client StrategyDorota Umeno SEM & Brand AdvisorMargery Spears SEO & Social Specialist
Digital Brand Enhancement• Search Engine Optimization• Paid Search• Social Media Marketing• Display/Banner Programs• Digital Video/Image Distribution
Program Optimization• Digital Marketing Program Management• Landing Page/Conversion Path Optimization• User Experience Analytics• Consulting, Training & Education• 3rd Party Program Audits & Vendor Selection
What We Do
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Seattle WA 98109www.ConfluenceDigital.com
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